1. Technical Field
The invention relates to speech recognition and speech directed device control. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for the generation and augmentation of search terms from external and internal sources, in connection with speech recognition and speech directed device control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One area of technical innovation is that of navigation of content by spoken and textual command. Such systems typically perform speech recognition by use of a grammar-based ASR (automatic speech recognition) system, where the grammar defines those terms that can be recognized. In such systems, navigated content is comprised of a catalog, content data base, or other repository, for example: currently airing broadcast TV programs, contents of a video-on-demand (VOD) system, a catalog of cell phone ring tones, a catalog of songs, or a catalog of games. Hereafter all of the above sources of content are referred to as a repository.
Content sources are updated and/or expanded on occasion, possibly periodically, possibly as frequently as daily. In some such applications as those described above, content sources are assumed, by both system architects and by system users, to reflect trends and interests in popular culture. However, known recognition systems are limited to recognition of only those phrases that are listed in grammar. Nonetheless, it is desirable to make content sources searchable by names of artists, popular topics, personalities, etc. Yet known ASR systems recognize only those elements that are listed in grammar.
It would be desirable to identify names, personalities, titles, and topics that are present in a repository, and place them into a grammar. It would also be desirable to identify names, personalities, titles, and topics that are not present in the repository, and place them into a grammar; for in this way, such names, personalities, titles and topics may at least be recognized by the ASR system, which can then report that no suitable content is present in the repository.